By Rory McCann, Marketing Manager & Conference Producer, LSN
What can often stand in the way of meaningful connection with investors is a company story, and what often stands in the way of crafting the tale you want to tell can be you. No one knows your story better than you do, which can make it difficult to tell it clearly and concisely to those who do not yet know you.
Dr. David Mead, CEO of Terra Bioworks knew all there is to know about his company and the great work they are doing, but with the help of Dennis Ford and the team at Life Science Nation, David was able to put his knowledge to work telling a meaningful story to investors interested in his company. Learn more about David’s experience with LSN’s branding and messaging team and how he leveraged this experience to make powerful connections at Digital RESI.
Do you want to put your own company story to the test? Register for Digital RESI November and save $100 on early bird rates until October 29.
By Rory McCann, Marketing Manager & Conference Producer, LSN
Sonavex makes ultrasound accessible for non-sonographers through its technologies designed to improve imaging and detect issues. Their work is meant to create better clinician experience and better patient outcomes. In a conversation with Sonavex CEO, David Narrow, it’s clear that there’s so much more that goes into early-stage success than a great idea. It takes strategy and understanding how to use the tools available to you. One such tool Sonavex has used is the Redefining Early Stage Investment (RESI) conference series. Check out a recent interview to learn more about the Sonavex story and how the team made RESI work for them.
RESI Partnering Week, November 16-18 registration is open! Sign up today and save $200 on super early bird rates.
By Rory McCann, Marketing Manager & Conference Producer, LSN
Stephanie Marrus, Managing Director of Entrepreneurship at the University of California San Francisco (UCSF) is on a mission, one that’s been decades in the making. Starting in marketing, business development, and growing into company leadership and entrepreneurship, Stephanie has built an impressive career that sets her up to effectively train scientific startup founders to succeed. In the age of Covid, she’s taken her show on the virtual road and has impacted hundreds of entrepreneurs globally.
Life Science Nation is proud to host Stephanie and the UCSF Innovation Ventures and Entrepreneurship Program at RESI Partnering Week, September 13-17. Get to know Stephanie and the UCSF Innovation Ventures and Entrepreneurship Program in a recent interview and get started on your entrepreneurial journey with Digital RESI and UCSF! Enrollment is open until Friday, September 17. The next class takes place Wednesday, September 29. Sign up today!
By Rory McCann, Marketing Manager & Conference Producer, LSN
A question not asked enough by early-stage startup founders when looking for banking options is, “Which available resources are specific to the needs of my company and industry?” In a recent conversation with First Republic Bank’s Nishta Rao, we discussed this question, why it isn’t asked enough, and what founders stand to gain when they understand how much more valuable a banking relationship can be when it’s the right fit. We discuss First Republic’s life science toolkit and the resources available to early-stage startups in life science and healthcare.
Listen to our conversation and get to know First Republic Bank at RESI Partnering Week, September 13-15. Sign up today and mark your calendar for the sessions answering your questions about what a powerful banking relationship can do for you.
Tuesday, September 14 | 11 AM EDT
Beyond Banking: Finding the Right Financial Partner for You
Nishta Rao, Managing Director, Life Science, First Republic Bank
Dennis Ford, CEO, Life Science Nation
When your startup firm gains traction, you will inevitably need a bank that can add value and understand your distinct early-stage entrepreneurial needs. There are an array of financial institutions that have programs in the life science market to aid and guide early-stage entrepreneurs to set up the right financial packages. First Republic Bank is a leader in the early-stage life science market with decades of experience and dedicated teams that provide support to scientist entrepreneurs. In this fireside chat, we discuss the programs and services available for startups and how to engage and take advantage of the FRB offerings to help your business grow.
Wednesday, September 15 | 3 PM EDT
How to Evaluate Your Banking Partner Workshop
Nishta Rao, Managing Director, Life Science, First Republic Bank
Life Science companies need more from a bank than just accounts and transactions. The right banking partner brings a mix of excellent service, industry expertise, and the ability to help companies grow. Join Nishta Rao of First Republic Bank to hear what companies should be looking for in a sound banking partner.
Aviel Blumenfeld is the CEO & Co-Founder of IMedis, an Israeli-based company that is creating a comprehensive quality management platform for radiology departments using ground-breaking AI technology to improve clinical outcomes, reduce risks of wrong diagnosis, and increase efficiency. IMedis’ solution uses a unique combination of image analysis and text analysis using AI for the detection and surfacing of various failure points throughout the radiology workflow. In addition, IMedis has a strong and cohesive team and is backed by a leading digital health VC. With a growing pipeline of collaborations in pilots, the company is exactly at the deflection point for using digital health for promoting quality-based healthcare. Aviel has worked in the medical devices field for 15 years in various positions including clinical applications specialists, software engineer, algorithm engineer, product manager and VP of R&D. At IMedis, Aviel handles management, strategy, operation, business development and fundraising.
Erika Wu (EW): IMedis pitched at the Innovator’s Pitch Challenge at RESI AI, January 2021 and Digital RESI, March 2021. What are you currently doing to grow IMedis and where is the company right now?
Aviel Blumenfeld (AB): IMedis is focusing on its go-to-market strategy and has already had several first early adopters in the US and UK starting to use Duali-Q for surfacing actionable missed findings in radiology reports. We expect to receive our first FDA clearance for our clinical offering by early 2022 and to start accelerating our commercial activity and growth of the company. Later this year we are planning to have our Series A-round in order to support the early stage of commercialization of the company, expedite development of new solutions and regulatory approvals.
EW: How would you describe AI?
AB: Professionals’ best assistance.
EW: As many were in your shoes at one point, what are some challenges you’ve learned from? Can you provide any advice, and how has your findings impacted your plan moving forward?
AB: In every conversation, you can learn something new, so keep close relationships with your potential customers, users and partners to better understand their needs and motivation. Early stages of a startup company are very fragile. When the pandemic started we were afraid that we would completely lose the attention of our target customers in the US while they were focused on treating COVID patients and significantly reducing their capacity of radiological examinations. We adopted our go-to-market strategy quickly and approached a new geographical market in the UK as we recognized the NHS which strengthened its digital adoption and openness to new technologies. The benefits of our solution are, first of all, for the patients with improved health outcomes, but also for large health systems by promoting early detection of life-threatening diseases — this is why we see a great potential in the UK as well as with large health systems in the US. We are aiming to keep developing our platform to cover more and more potential failure points and to offer the first in kind comprehensive solution for quality assurance in radiology.
Learn more about IMedis and connect with AI investors at Digital RESI AI (September 16-17)!
By Rory McCann, Marketing Manager & Conference Producer, LSN
Like most scientist-entrepreneurs, Reglagene CEO, Richard Austin thought the compelling story of his company and their precision chemotherapy technology would be enough to get the attention of investors. He quickly learned the importance of marketing the company and telling their story was also integral to their growth. His early experiences with RESI served as classroom, arena, and runway to success.
In our interview, Richard references the education he received from Life Science Nation CEO, Dennis Ford. Dennis is hosting the Global Roadshow Prep Course: a hands-on, comprehensive, one-day course designed to set up the early-stage life science executive for success as they conduct their global fundraise. Each class is open to 24 early-stage, fundraising entrepreneurs and includes premier access to RESI Partnering Week, September 13-17.
The Global Roadshow Prep Course takes place Friday, September 3 and September 10. View the agenda and sign up to jumpstart your fundraising through telling your story and connecting with the right investors for you!
By Erika Wu, Business Development Representative, LSN
Launching recent partnerships with Mayo Clinic and Roswell Park Comprehensive Cancer Center, Andrea Wang and her team at AHEAD Medicine is paving the way for blood cancer detection and clinical decisions using AI-powered analytics.
As a 9-time RESI attendee, panelist, and Innovator Pitch Challenge (IPC) participant, we are excited to see where AHEAD is going next. Get in front of AI investors at Digital RESI AI (September 16-17) by pitching your company at Innovator’s Pitch Challenge!
The firm is focused on therapeutics companies and does not invest in medical devices, diagnostics, or digital health. The firm is open to considering assets of very early stages, even those as early as lead optimization phase. The firm considers various modalities, including antibodies, small molecules, and cell therapy. Currently, the firm is not interested in gene therapy. Indication-wise, the firm is most interested in oncology and autoimmune diseases but has recently looked at fibrotic diseases and certain rare diseases as well.
The firm is opportunistic across all subsectors of healthcare. Within MedTech, the firm is most interested in medical devices, artificial intelligence, robotics, and mobile health. The firm is seeking post-prototype innovations that are FDA cleared or are close to receiving clearance. Within therapeutics, the firm is interested in therapeutics for large disease markets such as oncology, neurology, and metabolic diseases. The firm is open to all modalities with a special interest in immunotherapy and cell therapy.
A strategic investment firm of a large global pharmaceutical makes investments ranging from $5 million to $30 million, acting either as a sole investor or within a syndicate. The firm is open to considering therapeutic opportunities globally, but only if the company is pursuing a market opportunity in the USA and is in dialogue with the US FDA.
The firm is currently looking for new investment opportunities in enterprise software, medical devices, and the healthcare IT space. The firm will invest in 510k devices and healthcare IT companies, and it is very opportunistic in terms of indications. In the past, the firm was active in medical device companies developing dental devices, endovascular innovation devices, and women’s health devices.
A venture capital firm founded in 2005 has multiple offices throughout Asia, New York, and San Diego. The firm has closed its fifth fund in 2017 and is currently raising a sixth fund, which the firm is targeting to be the largest fund to date. The firm continues to actively seek investment opportunities across a […]
What can often stand in the way of meaningful connection with investors is a company story, and what often stands in the way of crafting the tale you want to tell can be you. No one knows your story better than you do, which can make it difficult to tell it clearly and concisely to those who do not yet know you.
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